Tatung to Set Foot on High Margin Photovoltaic Sector

As part of its efforts to boost earnings, Tatung Corp is planning to enter the high-margin sector of the photovoltaic industry and projects to introduce system products for the end market by the end of this year.

For this end, Tatung has acquired a 45 percent ownership of solar-module maker Apollo Solar Energy Co Ltd through its optoelectronics affiliate Forward Electronics Co. Apollo has projected to put out 50 megawatts of products by the end of this year, injecting an estimated NT$2-3 billion into Forward`s revenue.

Institutional investors pointed out that system products like building-integrated photovoltaic modules command high profit margin up to 30 percent. Tatung Chairman TS Lin said his company would introduce own-brand and OEM-based solar-system products.

Industry watchers estimated Tatung`s investment in solar-system business would give a boost to Green Energy Technology Inc, Tatung`s solar silicon crystalline wafer business.

Green Energy is branching out into thin-film solar cell module manufacturing. The company is outfitting itself with thin-film solar cell production lines and will start the production in July this year, with initial output projected at 30 megawatts. The company`s officials reported orders from European buyers had completely booked the company`s thin-film capacity.

Green Energy`s executives said the company`s thin-film photovoltaic conversion rate, the percentage of converting sunlight into electricity, posted at around 6 percent already and would hike to 8 percent next year.

Green Energy is planning to invest in mainland China in cooperation with some mainland makers of silicon crystalline materials.

Industry watchers point out that although Tatung is a late entrant of solar-energy sector, the company has quickly shortened its competition distance with early entrants by fast deploying in upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. The company, they analyze, is advantageous in the competition for its well established electronics-manufacturing affiliates, which offer technologies and applications for solar products.

Source: CENS